Pennsylvania Landlord/Tenant Law--changing terms of a lease?

[drystan]

I have a rental unit with a tenant that is currently on a month to month lease--I want to change the terms because I no longer want to pay for the heat. How much notice do I have to give, and does it have to be in writing? Also, can anyone recommend any good websites for small landlords?

[abraham90]

Legally you need to give them a 30 day notice. This gives them the opportunity to then give their 30 day notice to move if they disagree.

You do NOT have to have their agreement with the new terms. They have the choice to leave or not. And you also do not have to lower rent.

Let the power company know in advance which day to switch the billing over. They likely require that the bill be paid in full before they will put it in your tenants name,

[weiford]

Try mr landlord dot com. They are great if you are indeed a landlord. You need to give your tenant 30 day notice of any changes and yes it has to be in writing. However, as you are changing paying for heat,you will need them to agree in writing also.

[torin7]

First off - I am a small landlord (three properties) - Question - are you planning on giving them a break on rent to equal the equation?? I would probably do that after the winter - otherwise, they may get really pissed & move out (without notice at all)...or worse...! A Lot depends on your rapport with them....I give all my tenants 60 days for any of these types of changes....I really don't know the specific law, but I think 60 days is more than reasonable....I wouls also look up www.Nolo.com for advice - they tend to have a bunch of stuff you can download for free or very reasonably priced....Good luck!

[victorio83]

i dont know, but i rent in PA, and i can tell you that you may lose that tenant if you try and make them pay for the heat when you have historically been doing so. If you change the terms of the original agreement, they will have the option, legally, of moving out without breaking the agreement. This is assuming you have something in writing declaring the lease is month to month. It all depends on the verbiage in the lease. You cannot change the terms without giving them the option of moving out.